This invention relates generally to fire starting devices and more particularly to a hand operated fire starting tool for use as a survival aid and in general outdoor activities such as camping.
Presently there are a wide variety of fire starting devices available for use in an outdoor environment, probably the most common of which is the ordinary match. Among the advantages of a match are that it is light in weight, compact, and combines both an ignition source and fuel in a single unit. Even so, matches have a number of deficiencies which significantly limit their usefulness in an outdoor environment. If allowed to become damp or wet then they either fail to ignite or to continue burning after ignition. Also, they are difficult or impossible to ignite if the striking surface is wet. Further, because a match burns at a relatively low temperature the heat it produces may be insufficient to ignite damp or wet kindling. Finally, they are very susceptible to being blown out by wind gusts, so under windy conditions they must be carefully sheltered.
Another well known type of fire starting device is the common lighter which typically has a reservoir of liquid fuel, means for vaporizing the fuel and a spark generating apparatus. Typical fuels used in such lighters include naphtha, alcohol and butane and sparks are generated by forcing a flint element into contact with a moving steel wheel. If the fuel exists in a gaseous state at normal temperature and pressure then a flame is generated by releasing ignitable vapors near the flint through a manually operable valve and then creating a spark to ignite them. Fuels normally in a liquid state such as naphtha or alcohol are ignited by drawing them from the reservoir to the vicinity of the spark generator with a wick and then actuating the generator to ignite the emitted vapors. Lighters of this type are superior to matches in that they will burn much longer and are more reliable under moist conditions. However they are limited by the available fuel supply and are easily extinguished by wind gusts.
In recent years a more sophisticated class of fire starters have appeared on the market. These devices typically include a pyrophoric element, a housing in which the element is mounted and a striker which is removably attached to the housing. The devices may also include a supply of fuel such as tinder. In order to start a fire with such devices the kindling is first appropriately positioned near a larger fuel source such as dry wood or paper. Next, the striker is disengaged from the housing and struck against the pyrophoric element in such a way that sparks generated by the impact are directed into the tinder, setting it ablaze. In one variation of such devices the pyrophoric element is made of an ignitable magnesium alloy. In using such a device a small pile of shavings of the alloy is first collected and placed next to the fuel source. Then, sparks generated with the striker and the pyrophoric element are directed into the pile of shavings which ignite with the intensely white flame characteristic of burning magnesium. The burning shavings then ignite the larger fuel source. The second variation of such devices also employs a magnesium alloy element as a source of magnesium shavings but the element is not pyrophoric in nature. A separate pyrophoric element mounted to the magnesium alloy element and a separate striker is used to create sparks. One advantage of all magnesium alloy fire starting devices is that they produce a very intense and hot flame which theoretically facilitates fire starting. In practice however, the alloy shavings are consumed very quickly so fire starting with such devices can be difficult under wet or cold conditions when longer exposure to flame may be necessary to ignite fuel. Also such devices tend to be more hazardous to use because of the very high temperatures at which magnesium burns. Finally, the number of instances in which such devices can be used is inherently limited by the amount of magnesium alloy available to produce shavings.
Therefore it can be seen that while the various types of fire starting devices found in the prior art have certain advantages they also have significant limitations. As stated, many of them are difficult to use under rainy, cold, or windy conditions. Also those which rely upon specialized fuels are necessarily limited by the amount of such fuels available. Finally, many of the devices require two hands to operate, making then inconvenient for use by a lone user under certain conditions.
Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide for an improved fire starting tool which will function reliably in an outdoor environment even under rainy, cold, or windy conditions.
It is another object of this invention to provide for an improved fire starting tool which can be operated with a single hand, thus facilitating use by an injured person and leaving the operator a free hand to perform other operations such as holding a flashlight.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide for such a fire starting tool which is not dependant upon specialized fuels to produce ignition but which utilizes fuels generally available in an outdoor environment such as tinder, twigs, and wood chips.
Finally, another object of this invention is to provide for such a fire starting tool which is compact, relatively easy to operate and in which use of the pyrophoric element is maximized.